LONDON (Reuters) - Asian investors are returning to the European government bond market in numbers not seen in years, as a strengthening economy, positive yields and the increasing cost of dollar investments conspire to make Europe an attractive destination again.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad flaunted government advances in Syria's seven-year war by filming himself driving to meet frontline soldiers near Damascus, making a video of the journey from the city center into areas recently recaptured.

MANILA, March 19 (Reuters) - The Philippines took a step on Monday towards making divorce legal with the lower house of Congress passing a law allowing people to dissolve marriages, despite opposition from the president and bishops in the mainly Roman Catholic country.

BEIRUT, March 19 (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad flaunted government advances in Syria's seven-year war by filming himself driving to meet frontline soldiers near Damascus, making a video of the journey from the city center into areas recently recaptured.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymakers are shifting their debate to the expected path of interest rates as even some of its most dovish rate setters accept that lucrative bond buys should end this year, sources close to the discussion said.

BEIJING, March 19 (Reuters) - China elevated a key confidante of President Xi Jinping to one of the top positions in government on Monday as Beijing cracks down on riskier financing and a debt build-up that may pose systemic risks to the world's second-largest economy.

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Micro Focus International lost more than half of its value on Monday after Britain's leading software company ditched its CEO and cut its revenue outlook due to problems integrating assets from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.